Black Spire III: A Twisted King

Lore of the Hag Fens

Creatures

The Twisted King: Cruel, cunning, brutal. The Twisted King is all this and more. Ogre-lord of the northern Fens, possessed of weird magic and the strange secrets of the hags. The ogres now bow to him, and goblins gibber and caper at his court. His strength is growing…

The Water Weird: It was, once, a shimmering couatl, a servant of the Dragon. If the story is true. It might be lying. It lies frequently, especially about the past, eater of memories, water-serpent, taker of names. Its pool of pure water holds wisdom and madness in equal measure. Seek if it you want answers, or to lose your mind. It will spare your body. It has no use for material things.

Drownies: Water fills your lungs. The swamp won’t let you die. Sometimes it does. Who can predict its mercy? Sometimes it keeps you alive for days. Weeks. Years. Sometimes it never lets go. These are the drownies, living, lonely, transformed into slimy squamous fey. They seek others to join them, and have the power to melt solid earth into treacherous bog – and to drag the unsuspecting beneath with tremendous force.

You have encountered a Drownie. Yet still you breathe air.

Father-Mother: Vast, shapeless, sucking hunger. The Father-Mother is in the swamp, under the swamp, the progenitor of otyughs, the vast maw of madness. It is incredibly old, unbelievably alien, knowing forbidden things. It breeds more of their kind, always more.

You have encountered the Father-Mother. Its putrid voice still taints your lungs.

The Rusted Knight: His name is… was… Beltram. He was once a knight. His shrine is in the south, though he wanders… as far as the swamp will let him. He gave himself to the Fens to protect his friends, the story says. Now, he cannot die. But he will sooner grant that mercy on others than let the Fens have them. He knows much, but shares little.

Places

The Dragon Gate: One of the places where the dragons first manifested in this world. Somewhere in the northwest, beyond safety and sanity, by a crumbled old tower. The place is overrun with hags now, and the Dragon Gate opens, yawning, unto the abyss of the Underdark. It was once a fortress of the Most Ancient Enemy, and a seat of ancient and impossible magic.

The Hag’s Island: Somewhere in the great northwestern lake, there’s an island. The hag Zeikereth dwells there. She has Randall’s soul. What does she seek with it?